Hobart International Airport

Hobart International Airport (IATA: HBA, ICAO: YMHB) is an airport located in Cambridge, 8.5 nautical miles (15.7 km; 9.8 mi) northeast of Hobart, Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is currently being operated on a 99-year lease to the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium. The airport has seen strong passenger growth in the last few years, primarily due to the increase in services from low-cost carriers. In the financial year of 2008–09, the airport handled 1,869,262 passengers and 14,285 air movements, making it the ninth busiest in relation to passenger numbers and currently ranks as the second fastest growing airport in Australia.

The airport maintains a conjoined international and domestic terminal. The major domestic airlines that serve the airport are Qantas, Jetstar Airways, Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways Australia, which are all currently running flights on the main route to Melbourne Airport. At present, all the airlines operating at the airport utilise narrow-body aircraft. The airport plays a strategic role due to its location – Skytraders conducts regular flights to Antarctica on behalf of the Australian Antarctic Division using an Airbus A319. Although the airport has not had a regular scheduled international passenger service since 1998 (to Christchurch, New Zealand), the airport maintains customs and immigration facilities for aircraft entering the country.

Hobart International Airport was established in 1956, after a review found the nearby Cambridge Aerodrome was unsuitable for Hobart's future air transport needs. Occupying approximately 565 ha (1,400 acres) of land, the airport is sited on a narrow peninsula; take-offs and landings are inevitably directed over bodies of water regardless of approach or departure direction. The region—especially that immediately surrounding the airport—remains largely unpopulated, which enables the airport to operate curfew-free services.